In April 2013, the idea for the Deaf Nest project was born. Reflecting on my professional experience from overseas, I realised that deafness and pregnancy are rarely considered together.
A report from Action on Hearing Loss (2011) estimated that more than 10 million people in the UK are affected by hearing loss. It is an under-researched, unrecognised and neglected public health issue, and people with hearing loss have significant unmet clinical and social needs. What evidence is available indicates poorer physical health among deaf people (Sign Health, 2008). Kochkin and Rogin (2000) found a strong correlation between hearing loss and physical, emotional, mental and social wellbeing. Oliver (2009) argues that issues such as anxiety, depression, isolation and reduced self-esteem constitute a form of social oppression or ‘social death’.
There is also a failure in wider society to respond to the communication needs of people with hearing loss. Sign Health's (2008) report, Why do you keep missing me? revealed that 32% of deaf people find it difficult to explain their health concerns and 35% leave an appointment not having understood what they have been told. More recent research shows that 70% of deaf people who had not been to their GP recently had wanted to go but did not, mainly because there was no interpreter (Sign Health, 2014). It is shocking and unacceptable that deaf people are deprived of fundamental human rights.
At a time of change, when maternity services in the NHS are aspiring to deliver safe high-quality care for all women, the challenge of delivering equitable care to women who have hearing problems and are deaf is one that midwives, student midwives and maternity support workers need to overcome. The award-winning Deaf Nest project is a vision of maternity services where every deaf woman has full access to services, an excellent childbirth and pregnancy experience, and the information to make informed choices. The aim of the project is to highlight how simple measures can be put in place to support deaf women who are pregnant to access a full range of maternity care and improve their experience of care, leading to healthy outcomes.
There is no doubt that midwives and other health professionals need access to regular, good-quality training in deaf awareness. For that reason, the Deaf Nest is organising a conference, which will take place on 1 March at Kingston University, London. Training and workshops are aimed at the multidisciplinary team across the gynaecology and maternity services, but consideration will also be given to ancillary and support staff. The event aims to help practitioners share good practice and knowledge, exchange ideas and become familiar with local and national charities.
Feedback from delegates at last year's Deaf Nest conference included:
‘Today has definitely prompted me to think about my communication practice as a professional. I feel much more aware of how I would possibly be able to promote communication needs and provide holistic and individualised care to deaf parents on their journey into parenthood.’
‘It has really opened my eyes and raised awareness of maternity services and the inequalities that deaf people face when they access health services.’
‘I have made learning sign language a long-term goal in my personal development portfolio. I would like to increase my knowledge further.’
At Deaf Nest, we believe understanding, respecting and embedding diversity in maternity care has the potential to make a real difference to deaf women's experience of pregnancy and childbirth. The Deaf world in relation to pregnancy is little known, and there is no one to promote and protect its values and views except Deaf people themselves. Deaf and hearing-impaired women are a minority among the many thousands of women that midwives see every day, but demand for quality care is no less urgent—after all, each woman is an individual and midwives must adopt their care accordingly.
I would encourage midwives to attend the conference for a range of reasons: